Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that the University of Chicago Medical Center will begin participating in its hospital network effective January 1, 2008. Aetna members will also gain access to nearly 700 specialist physicians affiliated with the University of Chicago Physicians Group.
“We are pleased to be able to expand our members’ access to quality health care by adding the University of Chicago Medical Center hospital and specialists to our network,” said Allan Greenberg, president of Health Care Delivery for Aetna’s North Central Region. “The University of Chicago Medical Center is well respected in the community, and will enhance the health care services available to Aetna members.”
Members in Aetna’s commercial plans will be able to access services offered at the University of Chicago Medical Center hospital at their in-network benefit level.
"This will enable more patients with complex, challenging medical issues to access our highly specialized clinical services and innovative treatment programs,” said James L. Madara, M.D., chief executive officer of the University of Chicago Medical Center. "For many patients, this will significantly expand their therapeutic choices."
Aetna has approximately 15,000 physicians and 112 hospitals participating in its network in the Chicago area, serving local membership of approximately 400,000.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, government-sponsored plans and expatriates. www.aetna.com
About University of Chicago Medical Center
The University of Chicago Medical Center, established in 1927, is one of the nation's leading academic medical institutions. It consists of the renowned Pritzker School of Medicine; Bernard Mitchell Hospital, the primary adult patient care facility; Comer Children's Hospital, devoted to the medical needs of children; Chicago Lying-in Hospital, a maternity and women's hospital; and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, a state-of-the-art ambulatory-care facility with the full spectrum of preventive, diagnostic, and treatment functions. Care is provided by nearly 700 attending physicians - most of whom are full-time University faculty members - 620 residents and fellows, more than 1,000 nurses and 9,500 employees.
The Medical Center is consistently recognized as a leading provider of complex medical care. It is the only Illinois hospital ever to make the U.S. News and World Report Honor Roll, with eight clinical specialties - digestive disorders; cancer; endocrinology; neurology and neurosurgery; heart and heart surgery; kidney disease; geriatrics; and ear, nose and throat - ranked among the top 25 programs nationwide. The Medical Center was awarded Magnet status in 2007, the highest level of recognition for nursing care.
University of Chicago physician-scientists performed the first organ transplant and the first bone marrow transplant in animal models, the first successful living-donor liver transplant, the first hormone therapy for cancer and the first successful application of cancer chemotherapy. They discovered REM sleep and were the first to describe many of the stages of sleep. Of the 81 Nobel laureates with Chicago ties, 11 won the prize in Physiology or Medicine